Ski School

We can offer a variety of ski and snowboard instruction for beginners through to advanced and also private lessons. All lessons are booked with the the Cairngorm Mountain Snow School. This is the only school based on the mountain and the instructors are fully qualified through the British Association of Snow sport Instructors ( BASI). They employ people for their passion for skiing and snowboarding and their ability to relate to learners as well as their qualifications and experience.

Skiing Level Ability

Level 1
Who: It’s your first time. You have never skied before. Or you have tried it once, but not quite got your snowplough. Or maybe you’ve done a taster session but just want to start again.
What to expect: Getting to grips with the basics. You will learn how to clip in, slide around on the flat, side-step, straight run and get to grips with the snowplough.
Goal: By the end of the session we hope you will be comfortable with your equipment. You should also be able to slow down, glide and stop using a snowplough.

Level 2
Who: You have done some skiing before, you can hold a good snowplough and control your speed. You have achieved all the goals of the Level 1 session.
What to expect: You will start by checking your snowplough and ensuring you can control your speed. The session will quickly move on to turning and controlling your direction. Here you will be perfecting your turns and start to feel the flow.
Goal: By the end of the session you should be able to link your turns, be introduced to the ski tow and feel confident controlling your speed and direction. You will be starting on the path of plough-parallel

Level 3
Who: You can comfortably control your speed, link your turns on a green run and have started with plough-parallel turns.
What to expect: You will start on a green piste, getting straight back in to turning and controlling your speed. From here you will be developing your steering ability and starting to experiment with the shape and size of your turns. Once comfortable you will be working on turning those plough turns to parallel.
Goal: By the end of the session we hope you feel more comfortable with your parallel turns and have started to learn the appropriate techniques to deal with the increasing terrain. You will have a good grasp of the plough-parallel turn and close to paralleling.

Level 4
Who: You can parallel turn on green runs but still plough-parallel
What to expect: You will continue refining your technique and perfect your parallel turns. You will be exploring more of the mountain. The session will include dealing with steeper/red runs.
Goal: By the end of the session you will hopefully be parallel skiing confidently. You will also hopefully become more confident all over the mountain, tackling some red runs and different terrain/snow conditions.

Level 5
Who: You can ski on most runs, you are confident on reds and maybe done a few blacks. You now want to explore more aspects of skiing, such as off-piste, carving, skiing variable conditions and maybe even venture into the terrain park.
What to expect: At this level we only offer private lessons as they can be better geared to the need of the individual. For this reason you can expect 100% of the instructor’s time dedicated to you and your specific goals.
Goal: Whatever you want it to be.

Snowboarding Ability Level

Level 1
Who: It’s your first time. You have never snowboarded before. Or you have tried it once, or maybe done a taster session and you just want to start again. .
What to expect: Get to grips with the basics. You will learn how to strap in, move around on the flat, learn how to stand correctly on the board and how to brake on both edges. Once you have these basics in place you will move on to learning how to steer the board. .
Goal: By the end of the session we hope you can slow down, stop and zig-zag left and right.

Level 2
Who: You have done some snowboarding before, perhaps completed the Level 1 or done a day or two elsewhere. You can slide to a stop on both edges, you can steer the board left and right and may have possibly tried turning.
What to expect: You will build on your current foundation, checking some fundamental skills are in place first. Then progress to perfecting your floating leaf and making your first turns. You may be introduced to the lifts if conditions permit.
Goal: By the end of the session we hope you have made your first turns!

Level 3
Who: You have started to make turn on your board but are struggling to link them together.
What to expect: You will start with a refresher of turning technique, working towards linking your turns smoothly on a green run. You will be introduced to the surface lifts.
Goal: By the end of the session we hope you feel comfortable on green runs and have started to consistently link turns.

Level 4
Who: You can snowboard confidently on green runs and may have been on a blue run when conditions were good. You are looking to further improve your technique and become a fully certified snowboarder!
What to expect: You will be developing your steering ability and starting to experiment with the shape and size of your turns. Once comfortable you will venture on to blue runs and learn the techniques of riding steeper terrain.
I may be unsure when runs are steep, narrow and icy.
Goal: To become more confident on a variety of terrain

Level 5
Who: You can snowboard on most runs, you are confident on blue and done a few reds and maybe even a black. You now want to explore more aspects of Snowboarding, such as the terrain park, off-piste, carving and riding variable conditions.
What to expect: At this level we only offer private lessons as they can be better geared to the need of the individual. For this reason you can expect 100% of the instructor’s time dedicated to you and your specific goals.
Goal: Whatever you want it to be.

Session Times

Group lessons usually run from 10am-12pm and 1pm-3pm with an hour’s break for lunch to recharge the batteries! Our group classes operate with a maximum of 10 people. They also operate with a minimum of 4 people in a class, and so if there are less than 4 in the class instruction will be given in the morning only (10am-12pm). In this case your lift pass and equipment hire is still valid for the whole day. If you are bringing children for a package then please be aware that supervision is not provided at lunchtime, and so you will be expected to meet them if they are not responsible enough to look after themselves.

** Please note 5 to 7 yr old package lessons are only available on selected dates.